Food portion control device

ABSTRACT

A device for controlling food portions, including a hollow body defining a useful volume, vertical walls dividing the useful volume into at least two compartments, and a central axis from which the walls extend radially, the device including a vertical movable wall in at least one compartment, able to pivot about the axis so as to vary a volume of use of the compartment alone.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/EP2021/082884 having an International Filing Date of 24 Nov. 2021, which designated the United States of America, and which International Application was published under PCT Article 21(2) as WO Publication No. 2022/112363A1, which claims priority from and the benefit of French Patent Application No. 2012131, filed on 25 Nov. 2020, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND Field

The present disclosure belongs to the field of dietetics, and in particular accessories for controlling food portions such as compartmentalized trays. More particularly, it relates to a device with compartments whose volumes can be set to control the food portions for dietary and/or nutritional purposes.

Brief Description of Related Developments

A balanced diet has many benefits and increases the chances of staying healthy. In general, it is recommended to adopt a balanced diet which consists, inter alia, in eating approximately the same amount of calories as the body consumes to balance the energy intake, in order to maintain a body weight considered normal or ideal according to recognized standards.

A balanced diet is governed by a set of knowledge and practices called dietetics.

Dietetics goes beyond nutrition, from which quite uniform recommendations arise regardless of the individual, taking into account a personal aspect defined by the lifestyle of each individual. Most often, dietetics tend to find the diet best suited to an individual practicing a given physical activity.

Besides the quality and nutritional value of food, its quantity is decisive in the development of a diet.

Thus, it is necessary to comply with accurate food portions, for each food type (animal or vegetable proteins, vegetables and fruits, starches, etc.), in order to comply with the followed diet and to get the best health benefit therefrom.

Food portion control might quickly become a constraining daily task in the absence of the right tools. A conventional solution consists in weighing food using a kitchen scale before serving and eating it. This solution requires the use of at least one weighing container which will be soiled by the different foods, and might cause food waste.

Nowadays, various so-called dietary scales have appeared, sometimes associated with dedicated mobile applications allowing carrying out nutritional calculations and other customized follow-ups.

Nevertheless, the weighing solutions are still complex, in view of the caloric calculations to be performed, and impractical.

“Dosing” trays are also known which comprise several compartments and come in different shapes and sizes. Some are provided with a bottom and could therefore be used as a dish, and others not, like cookie cutters, and simply allow delimiting on a dish the volumes to be filled with the different foods.

FIG. 1 schematically represents a tray 1 of this last category, comprising three compartments 1 a, 1 b and 1 c, reserved for different food types A, B and C. The tray 1 is intended to be placed on a dish 2. Afterwards, the compartments are filled and the tray removed from the dish.

The major drawback of such a tray is that each of its compartments defines a fixed volume and therefore does not allow varying the portions. Consequently, it cannot suit people with different builds.

There are trays with compartments whose volume can be set marketed under the brand name Portions Master, in which a rotary means provided with radial walls is pivotally mounted at the center of a compartmentalized tray such as that of FIG. 1 , the radial walls being positioned inside the compartments parallel to the fixed walls of the tray so that the rotation of the means makes the volumes of said compartments vary.

In this solution, the volumes of the compartments vary at the same time and therefore cannot be set independently of each other, which limits the possible combinations of portions.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure aims to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art disclosed hereinbefore by providing a simple and one-size-fits-all solution, to be used by any person regardless of his build and his diet.

To this end, an object of the present disclosure is a device for controlling food portions, including a hollow body defining a useful volume, vertical walls dividing the useful volume into at least two compartments, and a central axis from which aid walls extend radially. This device is remarkable in that it includes a vertical movable wall in at least one compartment, able to pivot about the central axis so as to vary a volume of use of said compartment alone.

Thus, the volume of use of each compartment provided with a movable wall could be set independently of the other compartments, in other words without modifying the volumes of use of the other compartments.

According to one aspect, the device includes three fixed walls delimiting, in pairs, three compartments in the useful volume of the body, and a movable wall in each compartment.

This particular configuration allows dosing the three main food types consumed in a main course, namely vegetables, starches and meat (and fish).

According to an advantageous aspect, the body includes a bottom to serve directly as a dish, and thus avoid soiling an additional utensil.

Advantageously, each movable wall is able to occupy different angular positions in its compartment, all or part of the angular positions of said wall being marked by indicators located on a peripheral edge of the body.

These indicators correspond to volume of use levels of each settable compartment and enable a calculation of calories for example.

According to one aspect, each movable wall is able to slide along the central axis, aid axis including a locking means to release and block this sliding.

This sliding is necessary to raise a rigid movable wall before pivoting thereof and to lower it afterwards, when the latter is immobilized in an indicator in the form of a groove.

According to an advantageous aspect, the device further includes a cover able to hermetically close the body.

Thus, the device could be transported while being filled with food.

The fundamental concepts of the disclosure having just been explained hereinabove in their most elementary form, other details and features will emerge more clearly upon reading the description which follows and with reference to the appended drawings, giving as a non-limiting example an aspect of a food portion control device in accordance with the principles of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The figures are given for purely illustrative purposes for the understanding of the disclosure and do not limit the scope thereof. The different elements are schematically represented and are not necessarily to the same scale. In all figures, identical or equivalent elements bear the same reference numeral.

It is thus illustrated in:

FIG. 1 : (already mentioned) the use of a food portion control tray of the prior art;

FIG. 2 : a perspective view of a food portion control device according to an aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 : another perspective view of the device showing the movement of a movable wall;

FIG. 4 : a perspective view of the device with a cover;

FIG. 5 : a schematic top view of the device explaining operation thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the aspect described hereinafter, reference is made to a food portion control device, in the form of a hermetically-sealable container, intended primarily for the application of a dietary regimen. This non-limiting example is given for a better understanding of the disclosure and does not exclude making of the device in another form, for example with no bottom, and its use for other purposes.

FIG. 2 represents a food portion control device 100, including a hollow body 10 defining a useful volume 11, fixed internal walls 20 a, 20 b and 20 c, movable internal walls 30 a, 30 b and 30 c in the same number as the fixed walls and attached thereto in a default configuration, and a central axis 40, secured to the body, on which the movable walls are hinged and from which all walls extend radially so as to divide the useful volume 11 into several compartments 11 a, 11 b and 11 c.

Thus, the volume of each compartment 11 could be set by angularly moving the movable wall 30 associated therewith relative to the fixed wall 20 to which aid movable wall is initially attached, as will be explained later on.

The body 10, according to the illustrated aspect, has a generally frustoconical shape closed at its small base by a bottom 12, open at its large base by a peripheral edge 14 and delimited laterally by an inner wall 13 connecting said bottom and edge. This particular shape of the body 10 confers on the device 100 the appearance of a bowl or a deep dish.

Of course, this shape is not restrictive and the body 10 may be cylindrical with a circular, elliptical, polygonal section, or other, or else shaped as a spherical cap slightly flattened at the bottom. What is essential is that the useful volume 11, which represents the capacity of the device 100, remains large enough to contain the desired food portions.

At the center of the bottom 12 of the body 10, the central axis 40 is fixed vertically and extends over a height substantially equal to the height of the useful volume 11 so as to reach the level of the peripheral edge 14.

The central axis 40 allows supporting the internal walls, fixed 20 and movable 30, these extending radially from aid axis up to the inner wall 13 of the body 10.

To this end, the walls 20 and 30 have a shape which matches the inner shape of the body 10, along their lower and lateral edges, the upper edges of said walls being, in turn, located flush with the body 10.

Preferably, the fixed walls 20 are rigidly fastened to the bottom 12 and to the inner wall 13 of the body 10. For example, these fixed walls 20 may be manufactured in one-piece with the body 10, by a conventional process such as molding or additive manufacturing (3D printing).

Therefore, the fixed walls correspond to the limits of the compartments. More specifically, the compartments 11 a, 11 b and 11 c are delimited laterally by the fixed walls 20 a and 20 b, 20 b and 20 c, and 20 c and 20 a, respectively.

In turn, the movable walls 30 a, 30 b and 30 c allow varying the volumes of use of these compartments. Indeed, each movable wall 30 is able to move in the associated compartment and to occupy different angular positions so as to set the volume of use of said compartment.

The positions that can be occupied by the movable walls 30 a, 30 b and 30 c are marked by indicators 15 a, 15 b and 15 c, corresponding to progressive variations in volume in each compartment and numbered accordingly.

The indicators 15, according to the illustrated aspect, are grooves intended to receive the movable walls 30 by a straight upper portion of their side edges.

According to the described aspect, each movable wall 30 is mounted so as to slide along the central axis 40 and rotatably about the latter, and includes at its proximal edge means adapted to form a sliding pivot connection with the central axis 40.

The central axis 40 includes at its upper end a locking means 45 blocking or authorizing the translational movements of the movable walls 30 along said axis, depending on whether the locking means is closed or open.

Thus, when a movable wall 30 is positioned, under a given indicator 15, its rotational movement relative to the central axis 40 is blocked by the insertion of an upper portion of its distal edge into the groove of the indicator, and its translational movement along said axis is blocked by the locking means 45.

The locking means 45 may correspond to any mechanism filling the aforementioned function, such as a simple threaded plug sliding on a tapped portion of the axis 40 and whose closure and opening correspond respectively to a movement from top to bottom and from bottom to top.

Recesses are formed at the upper edges of the walls 20 and 30 to enable easy access to the locking means 45 by the fingers of the user.

FIG. 3 represents the food portion control device 100 on which an example of movement of a movable wall is indicated by consecutive arrows.

It consists of the movable wall 30 b which, initially, is attached to the fixed wall 20 b as represented. The movement of this movable wall towards the position indicated by the indicator 15 b for example consists above all in opening the locking means 45 to release the movement of said wall.

In a first step, the movable wall 30 b should be raised (right arrow upwards) until it comes out of the groove materializing the indicator 15 b. Coming out of the groove is made possible by the particular shape of the distal edge of the movable wall, namely an inclined edge terminating in a straight portion with a length substantially equal to that of said groove.

Afterwards, the movable wall 30 b should pivot about the central axis 40 until reaching the level of the indicator 15 b (arrow curved rightwards).

Finally, the movable wall 15 b should fit into the groove 15 b until it abuts against the bottom of the body 10 (right arrow downwards).

The final position of the movable wall 30 b is sealed by closure of the locking means 45.

Setting of the volume of use of the compartments will be explained later one with reference to the example of FIG. 5 .

It should be noted that this particular operation corresponds only to the described aspect. In alternative modes, the movements necessary to set the volumes of the compartments may be different. For example, the movable walls may have some flexibility enabling them to directly perform rotations to change position without any vertical sliding. In the latter case, the movable walls operate like rotary selectors which are released from their positions by elastic deformation.

FIG. 4 represents the food portion control device 100, further including a removable cover 50 to hermetically close the body 10.

The cover 50 is shaped so as to cooperate with the peripheral edge 14 of the body 10, and has a straight lateral rim with a height substantially equal to that of the peripheral edge 14 so that the planar inner face of said cover is in the immediate proximity of the upper edges of the walls 20 and 30 when it is properly placed on the body 10.

This allows limiting mixing of the food placed in the compartments when the device 100 is transported and undergoes sudden movements.

The cover 50 may be placed on the body 10 by clipping.

The cover 50 should have some flexibility and may therefore be made of silicone or a suitable plastic material, for example.

Optionally, the peripheral edge 14 may be surrounded by an annular sealing gasket to ensure sealing of the closure with the cover 50.

FIG. 5 schematically represents the operation of the food portion control device 100.

Each compartment 11 a, 11 b and 11 c, whose angular extent is represented by a two-way circular arrow, has a volume of use Va, Vb and Vc which can be set according to the position of the movable wall 30 a, 30 b and 30 c associated with said compartment.

Indeed, in each compartment, the movable wall may occupy one position amongst a plurality of positions marked by numbered indicators.

The default configuration of the device 100 corresponds to movable walls 30 attached to fixed walls 20. This configuration is represented by the movable walls in broken lines. When a movable wall is attached to its associated fixed wall, the volume of use of the compartment is at its maximum and therefore corresponds to the highest level. Thus, any angular shift of a movable wall 30 lowers the volume of use of the compartment. Consequently, the numbering of the indicators is demoted from the default position.

For example, the compartment 11 a has a volume level downgrade from 5 to 1, and therefore six volume levels, each corresponds to a determined volume of use.

In the example of FIG. 5 , the volumes of use Va, Vb and Vc are all set to the level 3 according to the graduations of the compartments.

For each compartment, each level corresponds to a determined volume calculated with the dimensions of the device 100.

Given the dietary use of the device 100, each compartment 11 a, 11 b and 11 c is intended for a particular food type A, B and C. For example, vegetables and legumes, starches and meat and fish.

Therefore, the energy value of each portion could be known with great accuracy according to the filled volume.

The different data may be grouped together in a document such as a user sheet containing different tables.

Also, a customized dietary monitoring may be carried out thanks to a mobile application associated with the device 100 and allowing providing the user with a program to follow by indicating to him the configuration to be adopted for each meal according to the need.

It clear arises from the present description that some elements of the food portion control device could be modified, replaced or suppressed and that some adjustments could be made to the use of this device, yet without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

For example, the device could have no fixed walls and could have at least three movable walls so that the pivoting of one wall modifies a volume of a compartment delimited by the other two walls without modifying another compartment. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for controlling food portions, including a hollow body defining a useful volume, vertical walls dividing the useful volume into at least two compartments, and a central axis from which said walls extend radially, characterized in that it includes a vertical movable wall in at least one compartment, able to pivot about the central axis so as to vary a volume of use of said compartment alone.
 2. The device according to claim 1, including three fixed walls delimiting, in pairs, three compartments in the useful volume, and including a movable wall in each compartment.
 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the body includes a bottom.
 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein each movable wall is able to occupy different angular positions in its compartment, angular positions of said wall being marked by indicators located on a peripheral edge of the body.
 5. The device according to claim 1, wherein each movable wall is able to slide along the central axis, said axis including a locking means for releasing and blocking this sliding.
 6. The device according to claim 1, further including a cover able to hermetically close the body. 